


Scorched: A Story of a Salamander and Their Little Spitfire

by orphan_account



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Based on an AU by Toklompa/TT-Vision, Basically a rowdy yankee gets adopted by a giant fire breathing reptile, Drabbles, Gen, I got their permission to write for it, Shenanigans, Short Stories, anywho have fun!, don't send me comments about it being unrealistic cuz idgaf, dragons are like giant scaly cats, guess this is kinda an anthology of sorts??, mama salamander is now a thing, poor Magna never stood a chance..., this is for fun and let me enjoy the cute, written for fun and not to be taken as canon compliant in the slightest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 04:31:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19243891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: What's a hot-blooded yankee to do when a great fire spirit decides to adopt him as their own?Answer: Not much he can do to be honest? Guess you're stuck buddy.An AU credited to Toklompa/TT-Vision who allowed me to write this for them.Lost inspiration to continue this. Orphaning the work.





	1. Meeting Mama Salamander

You know something fun? Festivals.

Like, literally. How could anyone say that getting people from all walks of life together into what was pretty much a large and extravagant party to celebrate something or another, didn’t hold at least some appeal?

Sure, there were folks who didn’t care much for the noise, crowds, or what-have-you, and preferred to stay home. But even then it was hard to find somebody who didn’t appreciate a nice memento someone brought back for them? Anyway, that’s besides the point.

They might not be to everyone’s liking, but festivals, especially those in the Clover kingdom, were a rare treat that was meant to be enjoyed at their fullest.

What _wasn’t_ fun however, was the morning after you had wound up drinking an excessive amount of booze the previous night to the point of passing out, and suffering from a massive hangover as a consequence. Magna Swing was well aware of said consequence as he had paid the price _many_ a time for reckless indulgence. Perhaps not as much as some people he knew, but he was still no stranger to being drunk off his ass.

But dammit, last night had been a good reason to get wasted! Who wouldn’t after hearing their team managed to rank second place among the magic knight squads at the Star Festival? And the fact his good buddy Asta had managed to make it as one of the top ranked newbies in the _whole_ country?

Why _not_ knock down a dozen shots to celebrate?!

… Still didn’t change the fact his head felt like he got hit by a blacksmith’s hammer or his stomach was reminding him of the need to rid itself of the remaining alcohol by any means necessary. The latter complaint would have to wait a moment because he was incredibly reluctant to leave his bed as of yet.

Or at least, he thought it was his bed? Whatever he was lying on was somewhat soft at least, but as to if he really was back at the base or not, he wasn’t really willing to deal with his headache long enough yet to find out. It was dark, it was decently comfortable, and it was warm, so why worry about it just yet?

But… perhaps it was a bit _too_ warm?

Too warm? That was a strange notion. Magna was a fire mage after all, so being hot was normal to him, and certainly shouldn’t bother him much?

But it was definitely warmer than he was used to, particularly on his chest and near his face. It felt like a small cat was laying on top of him, and his first initial thought was perhaps Vanessa’s cat she had picked up in the Witch’s Forest had wandered away and decided to wake him up? But the feline never really left her side, and thus made it doubtful it was hers.

Whatever it was that was lying on him gave off as much heat as an inferno in spite of its small size, making him doubt further it was even just a stray. Then, it had just huffed in his face, leaving a nasty smell on its breath that made his nose scrunch up in protest.

Okay. _Serious_ bad breath…

Any ideas of ignoring this thing was out the figurative window, especially with the low pitched growl that rumbled the small form on his chest. A very strange growl he was unable to connect with any animal he’d encountered before. Despite his body’s protests, Magna fought one eye open to see just what on earth was trying to wake him up.

Golden eyes with narrowed slits stared back at him, but this for sure was not a cat. A red, scaly face glowered at him as he opened both eyes and tried to examine just what the _hell_ was sitting on him.

His shifting to get a better look clearly displeased the creature as it hissed, not at _all_ happy their resting spot _dared_ to move without consent.

Whatever inhibitions Magna had about getting up before were gone as he yelped and made a clumsy attempt to put as much distance between him and this… _thing_ … as possible!

The problem with that however, was the fact that his legs were tangled up in a blanket, as well as the sensation of trying to suddenly stand post-inebriation causing a strong case of vertigo. As a result, he just wound up falling out of bed with a good chance he stubbed his nose on the stone floor. It certainly hurt enough, but adrenaline had a fantastic way of taking away any sense of pain for brief moments of time.

Either way, Magna didn't get too far…

Resigned to crawling as fast as possible before collapsing against his bedroom door, he turned to face the little intruder, armed with one of his boots he had somehow grabbed in his panic induced crab-walk.

Pointing the pathetic excuse for a weapon at the creature, who had now decided to claim his bed as it stared at him with bemusement, he decided fighting was the best option since flight was beyond his means at the moment. He attempted a glare as some kind of means of intimidation, but the beast clearly could care less as they yawned before laying their head down with a contented growl of some sort.

Feeling his left eyelid twitch in annoyance that he was being ignored, Magna growled himself before resigning to the fact that as long as it wasn't showing any inclination to attack yet, it was probably safe enough to analyze the situation further before deciding on a course of action. For one thing, he had been right in assuming he was back at the base and in his room. If it came down to it, he could get assistance to extract the little beast from his friends.

… It would probably help if he knew what the damn thing was at first.

Placing his boot down, he stared at them as they stretched out on his pillow, small but lethal-looking talons leaving scratches on the already abused fabric.

"Geez, make yourself at home why don't you," he grumbled.

A single golden eyeball peeked at him before a cheeky little smirk graced their maw. A clear insinuation of, _'Already have_.' His look of discontent seemed to amuse it as they let out a huff of laughter, the acrid smell from before returning as a smog issued from their snout.

Sighing in a resigned manner, Magna decided going back to bed was highly unlikely, so his best option was to get up and take care of his hangover. The little red menace, as he had decided to call them, was obviously not planning on going anywhere, and he had a strong urge to find the closest bathroom.

"You stay put you freeloader. I'll deal with you later once I can think straight…" he ordered them. Would they listen? Probably not, but it was worth a shot.

Once he had done his business and washed up, albeit a bit hurriedly in case the scaly nightmare decided to explore if he was gone too long, he felt a bit better. Still a little nauseous, and his brain acting as if it had been wrapped in cotton and used like a punching bag, but significantly less horrible than before.

If he had to guess where the midget monstrosity came from, it was probably some animal Luck found and placed in his room as a joke. The fact they had foul breath and could potentially maim him in his sleep seemed something that maniac would find funny…

His best bet would be to take it outside and let them head back to wherever they came from. The question was, how to catch it long enough to get it from ' _point a_ ' to ' _point b_ '?

Pausing outside his door, he figured chasing it with a broom or something would not go well. He may not be the brightest guy, but the black smoke the beast puffed out hinted at a possible ability to launch fireballs. A physical confrontation may not be in his favor…

Slowly opening his door, he peeked in to see if the little hellspawn was asleep. They in fact, were not, and the fact they weren't in his field of vision had his guard up. Cautiously stepping in, he left the door open should a hasty retreat be necessary.

The bed was empty, smudges of soot seemed to have found their way on his sheets, and several items on his desk had been knocked over or onto the floor. Any sign of a red-scaled hide or reptilian eyes were nowhere to be seen.

But a weird purr emanated from beneath his mattress, catching Magna's attention before it struck without warning. Charging from under the bed and latching onto his boots, a rather undignified screech escaped his lips as he fell backwards while they proceed to climb him like a cat with a scratching post.

Yelling could be heard as footsteps charged towards the sound of Magna screaming, and his fellow Black Bulls ran to his aid.

"Magna! What's going on?!" Vanessa yelled, her protective instincts in full gear.

"I told you I heard him yelling! Why does no one listen to me?!" Finral griped from out in the hallway. "Of all the times for Captain Yami to disappear!"

"This better be important for dragging me away from watching my angelic little sister!" Gauche threatened.

"Is it a bad guy?! Can I kill him?! I'll hurt him twice as much if he hurts my friends!" Luck cheered as he imagined what opponent was strong enough to escape his notice and sneak in the base this far.

All eyes focused on Magna, who couldn't fight his embarrassment at letting the little cretin get him trapped in this situation. Trying to figure out exactly what to say, Vanessa noticed the reptile that now was perched on his head in a defensive manner, hissing at the noise and appearance of what they saw as possible threats.

"Is that… Salamander..?" she questioned. "Finral, tell me that's not the thing from the Eye of the Midnight Sun that we saw in the forest?"

Wait… what?! This thing was from _that_ group?!

Finral finally stepped into view, curiosity at Vanessa's inquiry overriding his nervousness enough to see if what she said was true. His mouth agape at the sight of the pint sized terror promising a fireball aimed at whoever got too close, he let out a small whimper.

"Y-yeah… that's the one…" Now even more frantic at the fact it was on Magna's head of all places, he cried, "Didn't Asta kill that thing in the Witch's Forest?! What's it doing here?!"

Gauche growled. "It's a spirit beast you idiots! It can't die that easy! And if it's here after you beat their previous owner, clearly they must be looking for a new companion."

There was a long pause, the silence only broken by the angry growls of Salamander.

Magna, by now having had enough of claws digging into his scalp, said, "Alright ya little nuisance, no one's gonna hurt ya…"

A twitch of annoyance at being talked down to, Salamander stood still for a moment longer before relaxing their tense muscles and deciding to drape themselves across his shoulders like a weird scarf, keeping a watchful eye as they huffed. The collective sigh of relief at their choosing to standing down swept the room, danger avoided if only for the moment.

Getting up off the ground, Magna cast a sideways look at the great fire spirit hitching a ride on his shoulder. "So, now what?"

Observant as always, Vanessa hummed. "Seems like Salamander trusts you for whatever reason, and since their previous owner is with Fanzell and no longer under the influence of the Eye of the Midnight Sun… maybe there's a chance they've taken a liking to you?"

Finral lifted a brow, "With Magna? You don't really think..?"

Shrugging, she replied "Who knows? Whatever the reason, it's here and not causing any trouble, so I am heading down for breakfast."

Walking away, Vanessa ignored Finral's sputters of protest. "Wait, that's it..? What about… ugh. Fine. I could go for some food anyways."

Gauche, having been done with the commotion once it was clear there was no threat, and Luck who got bored at the lack of a fight, had wandered off long beforehand, leaving Magna alone with Salamander. They seemed better now that they were not surrounded by loud humans, and nudged his cheek with their snout.

Turning to look at them, Magna gruffed, "What do you want?"

Feeling a sharp swat at the back of his head, courtesy of a long tail attached to a sassy spirit, he felt the warm skin rub against his forehead with what could easily be mistaken as a purr. The touch was oddly comforting, despite the texture being akin to a snake's. It was gentle, almost affectionate...

Wait… what happened to his headache and nausea?

"Did you just heal me or something?" he asked them.

No reply but another puff of smoke.

"...Well, thanks I guess? At least I can eat breakfast without regretting it now."

Despite the confusion once Yami, Asta and Noelle returned from an impromptu trip to Mount St. Elmo and found Magna's new companion, things eventually settled down into a semi-normal routine.

Well, as normal as can be now that a fire spirit was attached to their hot headed yankee…


	2. Nesting Habits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay~ an update~ :D

"Anyone see my earrings?" Finral asked as he entered the main room of the castle. 

It was early in the morning, and the handful of Black Bulls members awake were intrigued by his question. 

"No, but I am missing a few things myself now that you say it?" Vanessa admitted. "Mainly a necklace, a ring or three, and even the buckles off of some of my shoes? I thought maybe I lost them when I was out drinking, but I don't think I was wearing them at the time?"

Asta piped in, "I think there's less silverware than the last time I washed dishes? And has anyone else noticed the shields and stuff disappearing off the walls?"

Finral glanced around, seeing a few spots on the walls where dusty outlines of missing decorations had been. "This is strange? Where could they have gone?"

"Well, the shields were gaudy, so I am not exactly complaining," Noelle started, "but there has to be someone behind this… non-magical items don't normally up and walk away?"

Magna walked into the room, glancing around and proceeding to check in between couch cushions and under furniture. 

"You lose something too, Magna?" Finral asked.

Pausing from his rummaging through the bar, Magna raised a brow in confusion. "Yeah? A few pairs of my glasses. You guys too?"

A collective nod was his answer.

"Weird… Salamander wandered off when I was getting dressed, so I gotta figure out where they disappeared to as well," he said with an exasperated sigh. "Anyways, if I find any of your stuff while looking, I'll let you know."

"Same here," Asta said with a determined grin.

The rest of the morning proceeded in a similar fashion. It appeared everyone had a misplaced item or two, and the more items listed, the more of a concern it became. Bits of jewelry, some loose change, cutlery, even a lighter Yami had won off some poor sap in a poker game. Once it was clear a thief was in their midst, a plan was hatched over lunch.

“I’ll wring the bastard’s neck as soon as I find him! That bracelet was a gift for Marie and I’ll kill him for defiling it with his dirty hands!” Gauche hissed, glaring as he was now motivated to take part in capturing the criminal.

Asta, being the kind soul he was, tried to be the pacifist and say “Well, maybe we should hear the guy out before doing anything so rash? Maybe he’s just desperate?”

“Desperate and crazy. Who on earth would walk in here and make off with small trinkets when there’s a magic knight squad in residence?” questioned Finral. “Especially one like us, what with our reputation…”

“I don’t give a damn! He’s dead the minute I get my eyes on him!” Gauche growled.

Rolling her eyes at the three, Vanessa returned her attention back to a large piece of parchment set out on the table in front of them. “Let’s focus on catching them before worrying about what to do with them. Let’s see… first off, we have the cage up here,” she said, pointing at the hastily drawn layout of the main room.

  
  


"Who's chicken scratch is this?" Noelle asked.

Magna looked away. "Look, all things considered at least you can read it…"

Squinting as she leaned closer to see the childish handwriting, she replied "Barely… is that a doodle of Salamander?"

"Look, I'm worried about the little cretin… no telling what they're up to…" he grumbled.

Vanessa smiled. "Probably napping somewhere in your room. They'll show up eventually. But back to the plan," she said, wanting to continue. "We hide in the bar while leaving some bait in the center of the room. Asta will hide behind the couch since he has no mana and can't be detected as easily. Once the culprit is at the bait, Asta will let loose of the rope that will bring the cage down and will hopefully capture our little thief."

"And after I can obliterate him with my mirror magic." Gauche added.

"Or, ya know… not?" Asta suggested. "I'd still be there and could easily get hit too!"

"Two birds with one stone…"

Frowning, Asta chose not to reply.

After a pause, Magna spoke up. "Anywho… I think I'll pass on the stake out… I rather keep an eye out for Salamander so they don't get caught in the crossfire."

Nodding, Vanessa grinned. "Best of luck, you big softie…"

"Tch. Thanks..." 

With that, Magna started up his search for his tiny reptilian companion. He was a bit limited in where he could look, seeing as if they had wandered off into the women’s dorms he would be murdered via trap magic before he could find them.

He was debating checking the communal bath again, seeing as Salamander seemed to enjoy the hot water, when a tiny streak of red caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

“Salamander?” he called, walking towards the hallway he thought he saw them go down. “C’mon, I've been looking for you all morning… what are you up... to…”

Magna trailed off as it appeared it was indeed Salamander, carrying a rather shiny belt buckle in their mouth. Gold eyes glanced back at him as they froze, seeming to realize they had been spotted.

“You little shit!” Magna cried, unsure whether to laugh or be angry. “You been swiping everyone’s stuff? What the hell?”

Salamander paused, thinking over his words carefully. Then proceeded to run as they tried to escape relinquishing their prize.

“Why you-?! Get back here you idiot!” Magna bellowed as he followed suit.

It grew to be a tricky task trying to catch a fire spirit when it clearly had no desire to be caught. Salamander was small enough to slide under and through the smallest of crevices with ease, while Magna had to either slow down enough to squeeze through, find alternate routes, or on occasion break through the obstacles.

Tripping over a side table and jumping up to continue the pursuit, Magna was more than testy as he yelled “Damn it! There is no way you’re weaseling out of this! You’re gonna return that shit or so help me!”

The chase then lead into the main room, where Salamander was close to getting out the open front door.

“Like hell you are!” Magna said, diving forward to latch onto their spiky tail and hang tight. Hissing in protest as they were being pulled back by their tail, Salamander continued trying to claw their way across the stone tiles as Magna pulled back.

...Just as the cage slammed down on the both of them.

Spooked by the bars closing down in front of their snout, Salamander jumped a bit, giving Magna leeway to yank them backwards as he fell onto the floor. A good thing too, seeing as they just barely missed the beam of white hot magic that collided into the wall instead, leaving a gaping hole to the outside world.

“Dammit Magna! You ruined my shot!” Gauche growled, stopping just outside the cage as he leered inside, hands clutching the bars with an iron grip.

“Look! I was just trying to catch Salamander to get them to cough up your stuff they swiped! Lay off sister lover!” Magna griped as the culprit was now struggling in his grip to get free.

“Easy, easy!” Vanessa called to try and mediate. Looking over at the fire mage wrestling with a very displeased spirit, she sighed. “Guess that solves the issue of who took our things…”

Ceasing their struggles, Salamander grumbled. They knew they were caught.

“Why did they even want them in the first place?” Noelle asked. “Seems a bit silly to swipe a few trinkets…”

Finral answered. “Well, I recall hearing a rumor that dragons and other species of their kind like to collect shiny objects, and are easily beguiled by gems and precious metals. They normally arrange them into their nests as a horde of some kind… Great spirit or not, I think Salamander was just following natural instincts.”

Asta hummed. “So… that means Salamander likes it here and feels safe, right? I know birds and stuff only put their nests where they feel safe?”

“I guess you can put it that way…” Finral replied.

Despite his frustrations, Magna sighed. “... Look. I’ll… find the stuff they stole and return it. And I’ll pay to replace stuff they damaged…”

“Hmm… I’ll be fine without those earrings all things considered.” Finral said with a grin. “I honestly bought them to impress a girl, but they were only collecting dust. Salamander can keep them.”

“Yeah, and I lose jewelry all the time. At least if Salamander has them, I won’t worry about whether I lost them at some bar or something,” Vanessa added with a shrug.

Gauche seemed to think it over. “The bracelet would not be worthy of Marie. She deserves the very best, so the lizard can have it.”

Deciding not to poke Gauche about giving up the bracelet so easily after threatening murder, Magna sighed. “Thanks.” Turning to Salamander, he said, “You get to keep most of the stuff you swiped, but don’t go stealing again, got it? Next time be sure it’s okay to take.”

Now pleased they could keep most of their treasures, Salamander dropped the belt buckle onto his lap, nudging it forward.

Smirking, Magna let out a sigh. “Trouble maker. Now… can someone get us out of this cage?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> arts is mine. I drew that childish thing on medibang desktop. :"D


End file.
